Solembum
Solembum was a werecat with shaggy black fur and constantly color changing eyes, the companion of Angela the herbalist. His human appearance is that of a boy with shaggy black hair. While in his human form he was often seen wielding a black dagger. He befriended Eragon in Teirm, telling him of the Rock of Kuthian and the Menoa Tree, in riddle form however. He later aided Eragon's quest on more than one occasion. He was present at the Battle of Farthen Dûr and the Battle of The Burning Plains, where on both the plains and the mountain-top he appeared as the boy with the dagger. Although the werecat appears to be owned by Angela, according to the herbalist herself, he simply stayed with her on his own accord. He showed neither love nor hate towards the witch. He simply found her company amusing and interesting. Also it has been said that it is actually uncommon among the werecats to be attached to a human (although it has yet to be empirically confirmed that Angela is in fact a human) as Solembum is to Angela. The werecat Maud, who lives in Ellesméra, hints the reason behind why that is in Eldest. Advice Solembum gives Eragon some advice when he first meets him in Angela's herb shop. As a werecat he portrays just how magical Angela is, by traveling with her. And by speaking with him, Eragon proves just how powerful he is, because as Angela states "not many can speak with him." She says that only three people have been able to speak with him, a blind beggar, a woman named Selena and Eragon Shadeslayer. The first part of Solembum's advice to Eragon has come true, as Eragon found that the "weapon" under the Menoa Tree was brightsteel to forge Eragon a new sword. The second part came true as well. In Inheritance Eragon speaks to Solembum again to find out more of the second part, as his power seemed insufficient to himself, but Solembum knows no more than that all werecats had that advice for the first Rider they met not beholden to Galbatorix. After saying that either somebody erased the werecats memories against their will, or they agreed to it, he still does not know anything. However, he admits that it might have something to do with the book Domia abr Wyrda. He then goes into a trancelike state and tells him which page to turn to and where to start reading. After the trance he doesn't remember it and claims that Eragon is playing tricks on him. Absence in movie Solembum does not appear in the Eragon movie. Obviously, this is for plot simplification reasons and very common in book adaptations. Still, fans of the books are unsurprisingly quite unhappy about the fact, citing the key role Solembum's advice plays in the books and the subsequent inconsistency in eventual sequels, where plot elements would just "be there" without any apparent reason (with the advice precipitating them missing), or be altogether excluded. Trivia * In Eragon, his eyes are mentioned as red; in Eldest, they are gold. In Brisingr they are green. Solembum has the power to change his eye color. His eye color in a given book just so happens to be the same color of the dragon revealed in the following book. In Eragon, his eyes were red; in the next book (Eldest) Thorn, the dragon on the cover, is red. In Eldest, his eyes are gold; in the next book (Brisingr) Glaedr, the dragon on the cover, is gold. In Brisingr his eyes are green and as it so happens Fírnen, the dragon on the cover of Inheritance, is the color green. As if to complete the cycle, his eyes are blue when first mentioned to return to (Eragon) Saphira, but when Eragon brings this up, Solembum blinks and his eyes change from blue to gold. Paolini has stated that the red could in part be a reflection of light. * It is possible that when people see Solembum they suppose he is Angela's pet cat. * Solembum chased another werecat, a "long-whiskered female who was half his age". de:Solembum es:Solembum nl:Solembum pl:Solembum ru:Солембум Category:Characters Category:Varden Category:Males Category:Werecats